Untitled
by BanginBrownEyes
Summary: All human AU...Angel and Cordelia are teenagers, alone and struggling to survive in the big city. When an act of desperation brings them together, the connection is instant, but will love be enough to overcome the past? C/A/C-baby Connor!


Author's Note: I don't have a name for this story, yet. It's just something that came to me a few weeks ago, and ever since has been bugging me to get it down on paper. Or computer screen. Whatever. You know what I mean :) Anyway, please comment and let me know what you think so far. Thanks for reading!

"What in the hell are you doing?" Startled, Cordelia jumped and looked up from the magazine that she was reading. Her boss, a short, stocky man with a bad comb-over and a suprising lack of manners, stood over her, his eye brows raised in annoyance. "This isn't a library, you know."

"May as well be." She answered, turning to an article on hair care. "You could hear a pin drop in here." The tiny convenience store had been empty for hours, and Cordelia had just about had her fill of it. She was sick of being stuck behind a cash register all day, waiting for customers who never came, staring blankly at the TV... Sure, there were other things she could do - take inventory, stock shelves - but how many times could she rearrange the soda display before she gave into to the urge to just kick it over and run out of the place screaming? "Can't I please go home?"

"Store closes in twenty minutes." Murray barked. "You can go home then."

"Fine. Whatever." She rolled her eyes, and continued to mutter under breath as he disappeared into the back room. "Like we're suddenly going to get a customer at 11:40 at night. What a jerk." Sighing, she turned back to the magazine and tried to find the place where she'd left off. _There it is. Five Myths About Your Hair-_

Suddenly, the bell above the door chimed. _That's weird. _She thought. _We never get customers this late. _Slowly, she lowered the magazine and looked toward the entrance, dying to see who had decided to stumble into her store. Right before it was about to close. On a Friday night. She had her mouth open, ready to scold what she assumed was another drunk, when she found herself staring into a pair of haunting, dark brown eyes.

As they studied her, she quickly closed her mouth and struggled to form a thought. Before she could think of anything worthwhile to say, their owner turned and headed down one of the aisles, the top of his head barely visible over the tall shelves filled with merchandise. He stopped when he made it to the back wall, and she saw him turn in her direction, as if he was looking to see if she was watching him. Of course, she was...she watched everyone. This store wasn't exactly in a good part of town.

"Look," She called out, hoping he could hear her. "We're closing soon. So, you're gonna have to hurry up." The man didn't answer, but, after a few moments, he turned and slinked back up to the front of the store, carrying what looked like a ham and cheese sandwich. "This everything?" She asked automatically. He nodded, and she pushed a few buttons on the cash register. "That'll be $1.06." As he dug into his pockets for money, Cordelia took the opportunity to really look at him, and a soft smile crept onto her face. He was about her age, maybe nineteen or twenty, and he was tall, considerably taller than she was. He was a bit thin for his height, and his skin was a little pale (probably from spending all of his time playing video games), but he had broad shoulders and a strong, angular jaw, which made her think that he was probably a lot more powerful than he looked. In terms of cuteness factor, he was definitely up there. Deep, hypnotising eyes, dark, messy hair, just long enough to have a hint of curl to it...get him out of those hideous clothes and into a hot shower, and she'd have herself a nice helping of salty goodness. _Heavy on the salt. _"What's your name?"

The question seemed to have caught him off guard, because he suddenly stopped rooting for change and looked up at her strangely, his eyes once again capturing her in their intense stare. "Why?"

She thought for a moment. "Because," she stated simply, "I want to know." She gave him her best 'you know you want to' smile, and he glanced away shyly, his mouth turning up into a grin.

"Angel."

"Cordelia." She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you." He reached up to shake the hand she'd offered him, and as he did, she barely caught a glimpse of something metallic sticking out of Angel's pocket. At first, she thought maybe it was a gun, but her mind was quickly put at ease when she saw that the item was fat and cylindrical, and too big to be a weapon. Then, as the realization hit her, her mind was taken in a very different direction. "Are you trying to shoplift?"

"What?" He was genuinely shocked at her accusation. "No. No, of course not." Angrily, she pointed to the bulge in his coat pocket, her voice louder and more insistent.

"Yes you are! You're trying to steal something!" At his look of panic, she immediately rushed around the counter, shouting toward the back of the store. "Murray!"

As quickly as he could, Angel pulled a few coins and a crumpled up dollar bill from his pocket. His dark eyes clouded with guilt.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't look back. He just slammed the money down on the counter and ran.


End file.
